April 1, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lions once again found themselves facing a ranked opponent in No. 10 Michigan and ended up falling in both games. The Wolverines claimed a 9-1 victory over Penn State in game one and swept the series with an 11-3 win in game two. Penn State is now 9-18 on the year and 0-6 in the Big Ten Conference while Michigan improves to 24-9 overall and 2-2 in league play. Throughout the day, freshman pitcher Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) struck out 11 batters and went 2-for-3 in game two with an RBI single.
After a 50 minute rain delay, game one got off to a slow start. With only one hit from either team through two innings Michigan got the first score of the day in the third. Stephanie Kirkpatrick singled up the middle and worked her way around the bases with only one out before a fielder's choice and a strike out ended the inning.
The Wolverines extended their lead with six runs in the fourth. Things got started with a solo home run by Roya St. Clair. Five more runs would score before the second out as Michigan took advantage of Penn State fielding errors.
The Nittany Lions responded in the fourth as senior center fielder Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa.) reached first on an error and advanced to second as the throw skidded well into foul territory. Sophomore shortstop Desi Giordano (West Caldwell, N.J.) tallied the first hit for the Lions as she and Hovanec switched places with a double giving Penn State what would be its only score of the game.
Michigan scored once more in the fifth as a Bree Evans single plated Molly Baucher, and again in the seventh as Kirkpatrick hit a leadoff home run over left field.
The Lions scored one run off two hits while committing four errors as the Wolverines scored nine runs with 13 hits and two errors. Akamine struck out six in the effort taking the loss to become 4-10 in the circle while Nikki Nemitz fanned eight improving to 14-5.
The night cap went a little better for the Lions, but the Wolverines still had the upper hand and took the game in an 11-3 decision. An explosive first inning by Michigan sealed its fate as they scored five runs with two outs. The first came on a passed ball and Angela Findlay cross the plate. Amanda Chidester followed as Maggie Viefhaus singled up the middle and Teddi Ewing cleared the bases with a three RBI double.
Penn State answered as senior first baseman Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.) reached on a single to center field and proceeded to second as junior left fielder Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) walked. A single by Hovanec brought Kinley across the plate as Griffith followed with a single by Akamine. Carnie Smith (New Wilmington, Pa.) went in to pinch run for Akamine in an attempt to get the double steal as Hovanec was on the opposite corner. The Wolverines took the bait and although Smith was tagged out, Hovanec's run scored bringing the Lions within two runs with a 5-3 score.
The next two innings were scoreless, but Michigan scored three more in the fourth with the help of back-to-back doubles and repeated in the seventh with a three RBI home run by Viefhaus.
The Lions scored three runs off five hits while the Wolverines scored 11 runs with nine hits. Nemitz struck out 10 in the six inning effort to take her 15th win of the season as Kimi Wong (Goleta, Calif.) took the loss to become 0-3 in the circle.
The Nittany Lions will continue to look for their first conference win in a two-game series at Iowa this weekend. Game one will be on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and game two will commence on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.